TANAP

The Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP), representing the European section of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) which will bring gas from Azerbaijan, has obtained an extension of the validity period of the project’s exemption from third party access to its pipe.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will carry Azeri gas to European markets, and is seen as Europe's alternative to its reliance on Russia, is open to new shareholders, including Iran, a spokeswoman for the project said yesterday (8 April).

Azerbaijan, which has acquired Greek gas transmission system operator DESFA, is wondering why the European Commission is taking so long to decide if the deal is compatible with EU law, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Natig Aliyev told EurActiv.

A Commission official confirmed yesterday (5 March) that Gazprom can use the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) to move gas, if the Russian export monopoly builds the “Turkish Stream” pipeline and brings gas to Greece.

Hosting the President of Azerbaijan on an official visit to Bulgaria, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said his country wants to revive the Nabucco pipeline project. President Ilham Aliyev said that what really matters is to bring more Azeri gas to Europe, and that the name of the future pipeline is not important.

Azeribaijan's central bank devalued the manat on Saturday (21 February) by 33.5% to the dollar and by 30% to the euro, as slumping oil prices and an economic crisis in major trading partner Russia put pressure on the currency.

Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič attended the first founding meeting of the Advisory Council on the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku yesterday (11 February), a project to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe by 2019-2020.

Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said today (4 February) that the Russian plan for a pipeline named “Turkish Stream” was not viable. It also became clear that the Commission is organising a secretive ministerial meeting in Sofia on 9 February, to discuss alternatives to the supply of Russian gas to the region.

A visit by the president of Azerbaijan to Berlin on Wednesday (21 January) marks a milestone, and an obvious warming of his country's relations with Germany, against the background of the Ukraine crisis.

Following a statement by EU ministers who said they wanted Russia to clarify its intentions concerning the South Stream gas pipeline, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom confirmed yesterday (9 December) that the decision to abandon the project is final.

The construction of the Serbian stretch of the South Stream gas pipeline will start in October, the head of the Gazprom international projects department Alexander Siromyatin was quoted as saying by Serbian media.

Federica Mogherini, the Italian foreign minister appointed to become the next EU foreign affairs chief, said in the European Parliament today (2 September) that Russia was no longer the EU’s “strategic partner”, referring to the phrase which describes the relationship between the Union and its largest neighbour in hundreds of official documents.

A Russian newspaper has published an article suggesting that the Kremlin-favoured South Stream gas pipeline could drop Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia for its route, and instead reach its final destinations, Italy and Austria, through Turkey and Greece.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) and the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (ICGB) have signed an agreement laying the foundations for linking the two projects and thus bringing gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, a country that depends on Russia for almost 100% of its gas imports.

Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the two planned projects competing for Azeribaijani gas, have both signed agreements with the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP) between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Representatives of Nabucco and TAP, the rival pipelines planned to carry gas from the Shah Deniz II offshore field in Azerbaijan, both told EurActiv they were in a better position to obtain the contract. A decision by Azerbaijan is expected in June.

The companies behind the Nabucco pipeline have agreed to give Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas group a stake in the project to pipe the country's gas to Europe, boosting its prospects against the rival TAP project.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have signed an agreement to build the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP), a move welcomed by the European Commission as a major step towards completing the Southern Gas Corridor project.